


November - The Hell Week to End All Hell Weeks

by eadreytheiptscray



Series: More Than Friends (AroWriMo 2020) [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Kaiju, Bigotry mentions, Gen, LGBTQ Characters, Light marital romance, Otherwise no romo, Slice of Life, The Pacific Rim coffee shop AU I've always wanted to write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22511776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eadreytheiptscray/pseuds/eadreytheiptscray
Summary: The Shatterdome baristas meet the regulars. Teasing, pranks, and awkward small talk ensue.AroWriMo submission info:-Category: Subverting romantic tropes-Prompt: Week 1 - Community and acceptance-Genre: Slice of life-Content warnings: Bigotry mentions, light marital romance
Series: More Than Friends (AroWriMo 2020) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619677
Kudos: 8
Collections: AroWriMo 2020





	1. Yancy

It was only—Yancy glanced at his watch and blinked—10 a.m., and every table at the coffee shop was taken. Even the one he'd slid in the dark corner for symmetry. The order line wound around the barrels filled with bags of coffee and along the back wall, and the people waiting for their orders bunched up around the counter.

"Welcome to The Shatterdome!" Tendo called to a couple of grad students squeezing through the front door.

Yancy grabbed an apron, an order slip, and a clean coffee mug. "Is it normally this busy on Mondays?"

"I must be dreaming," Tendo called over his shoulder. "Raleigh, look who it is."

Raleigh looked up over the armfuls of empty mugs he was spilling into the sink. "He's out of the cave!"

Yancy swatted at his brother with a dry dish cloth. "And you wonder why I don't come out more often." But honestly, it was nice seeing what a busy day looked like. Spreadsheets couldn't show this kind of chaos. "Seriously, is this normal?"

"It's November." Raleigh shook his head. "Finals? Thanksgiving break?"

"Kid, I lost track of time the day I graduated."

Tendo laughed. "You sound like an old man."

Yancy side-eyed his business partner. "Aren't you older than me?"

"Hey, I'm not the one asking what month it is."

"Touché."

Yancy filled the next two dozen orders, flashing a smile at every bleary-eyed college student reaching for their cups. An hour later, once Tendo had stopped yelling "welcome to The Shatterdome" every five seconds, he sagged against the counter and gazed around the crowded coffee shop.

"This beats staring at spreadsheets all day. Maybe I should do this more often."

"You should. You've been cooped up back there for too long." Tendo elbowed him. "Talking to people will do you good."

"I talk to you and Rals—"

"Only 'cause we live with you."

 _It's not like I'll make friends with the customers_ , he thought. But spending more time serving coffee up front instead of crunching the numbers in the back office was tempting. "Wait… you're just saying that so you can boss me around."

"What? No way. But we do need someone to put up those dishes."

Yancy smirked. "Yeah, yeah."


	2. Tendo

"Your mom's calling," Yancy yelled from the back office. "Want me to pick up?"

Tendo inhaled sharply. "Nah. I'll call her back."

"This is the third time today." Yancy emerged from his cave holding Tendo's phone. Missed call notifications lit up the screen. "Everything alright?"

"Tell you later."

Later ended up being an hour before closing. Tendo, Yancy, and Raleigh had kept busy with the steady stream of students who'd flocked to The Shatterdome after finding no seats or peace in the library.

With no one in line, Tendo trudged into the back office and slumped onto a crate near Yancy's desk. "How do I tell my mom I don't want to spend Thanksgiving with her family?"

Yancy whistled. "Is this the conservative side?"

Tendo nodded. "Things were awkward even before I transitioned. Now..."

"Do you want an excuse? Or somewhere to be?"

"Both, I guess."

Yancy's chair squeaked as he leaned back. "If you're not sick of us yet, how about spending Thanksgiving with us? Jazz is coming up for a few days, but she's staying with a friend."

"Seriously?" Tendo relaxed, as if the what-ifs he'd be carrying around all week had fallen off his shoulders. "I'd love that."

"Great! It's been a while since we've done holidays together. Oh, and if your mom asks, just say I made you work through Thanksgiving."

"Aren't we closed?"

"Yeah, but she doesn't have to know that."

A thousand replies ran through Tendo's mind, but none of them matched the weight of Yancy's offer. So silently, Tendo stood and wrapped his friend in a tight hug.


	3. Raleigh

"Find your own study spot, Hansen. I was here first."

Had Raleigh not been watching, he'd have never believed the regular with blue hair was capable of shouting. He'd only ever seen her frown at her laptop or mutter what could only be curses at her engineering textbook.

"Yeah? It's not a crime to get coffee, Mori." The guy who yelled back sounded Australian and must have been her classmate—he held an identical textbook under his arm.

"So you skipped right over Starbucks, huh? Convenient."

"Too crowded, like everywhere else on campus."

"Quit following me around."

"I'm not. You're everywhere I want to go."

"Trespasser."

"Snob."

Raleigh smirked as he finished wiping down tables. They were having the same kinds of stupid arguments as him and Yancy.

Tendo said as much when Raleigh ducked behind the counter. "Eavesdropping again?"

"I like people-watching, so what?" Raleigh busied himself with the dishes in the sink. "And it's not eavesdropping if you can hear them across the coffee shop."

"Fair point."

The coffee shop had gone quiet again, much to Raleigh's disappointment. Those two arguing had been the most interesting thing to happen at The Shatterdome all week.

"Her name's Mako."

"Huh?"

"Don't do that. I've seen you watching her. Why don't you go say hi?"

"She's an engineering major. Wicked smart. No way."

"Raleigh."

If he looked up, he'd get a Dad Lecture about how he needed to make friends that weren't his roommates and get out of his comfort zone every once in a while. And he'd reply, _I'm not lonely when you and Yance are around. Why would I need anyone else?_

He wouldn't admit he was tired of spending so much time alone.

Tendo knew him too well. Before Raleigh could look up, he was standing at the register, still holding the coffee mug he'd been drying off. And guess who was standing in line.

"If you won't go talk to her, fine. She'll come talk to you."

Tendo was the worst sometimes.

"Um, hey," he stammered as Mako stepped forward. "What can I get you?" 

Two seconds in, and he'd already screwed up. He'd been so distracted by her soft smile that he hadn't heard the words coming out of her mouth.

Raleigh blinked. "Uh..."

"One Onibaba, extra cinnamon and sugar, and a chocolate croissant coming right up," Tendo said, clapping Raleigh on the back. Mako smiled wider.

Maybe Tendo was alright.


	4. Mako

Chuck stayed this time. At least he had the sense to sit in the opposite corner of the coffee shop. Why was he here again? Was he really coming to study, or did he just want to copy everything Mako did, like when they were kids?

Mako peered over her laptop. Chuck looked like he was studying; every few seconds, he'd look down at his textbook before typing furiously again.

"Finished with that mug?"

Mako jumped. "Wha—oh, yeah." She glanced at his name tag. "Thanks, Raleigh."

He smiled, following her gaze. "Ex-boyfriend?"

"Ew, no! More like academic rival."

"People have those?"

Mako shrugged. "Chuck has been trying to one-up me since elementary school. When I mastered the monkey-bars first, he was determined to be the fasted kid in our class. I took up martial arts, he did rugby. I was the first freshman to take AP Calculus, he was the first in AP Physics."

She scowled as she gestured to the other end of the coffee shop. "And the cycle continues."

"Do I wanna know who was valedictorian?"

Mako sighed. "Neither. We were tied for third. Third—by a tenth of a point!"

Chuck looked up and rolled his eyes.

"That's pretty impressive—"

"I'm going to beat him."

Raleigh slid into the chair across from her. "Is that why you're always studying here?"

She nodded. "I think Chuck is lying about his GPA. He says he's a point ahead of me."

"Well, as long as you're having fun..."

Mako narrowed her eyes. "It's not about having fun. It's about getting the best job prospects."

Raleigh blinked. "When's the last time you hung out with friends?"

 _Is he really giving me the same spiel as Dad?_ She must've shot him a scathing look, because he threw up his hands.

"I'm just saying, it wouldn't kill you—or your GPA—to have fun once in a while. Or be nice to who seems like a childhood friend."

Mako glanced up at the same time Chuck did. He blinked first— _another win for me,_ Mako thought—and she stuck out her tongue. Childish? Maybe. But it felt good.

"Or not." He glanced over his shoulder. "How do you feel about pranks?"

"Normally, I love pulling pranks. But I need to concentrate on this project. Why?"

Raleigh grinned mischievously. "Don't tell my brother, okay?"

Mako could hardly wait to see what idea crossed Raleigh's mind. She watched him duck back behind the counter and mutter something to the other barista. Tendo shared his impish grin, both glancing at Chuck as they scribbled something on a napkin.

A few minutes later, Raleigh walked over to Chuck's table, holding a clear to-go cup full of blue-green liquid.

Chuck glanced at the drink, looking just as confused as Mako felt.

She couldn't hear what Raleigh was saying to him, but whatever it was made Chuck laugh harder than the time they'd put toothpaste in his dad's Oreos. Raleigh smirked as he sauntered back to the counter empty-handed.

"What did you do?" She asked.

Raleigh shrugged. "You'll have to ask him."


	5. Chuck

The library was packed again—typical. Why couldn't the slackers pick somewhere else to cram?

Chuck's fallback was Starbucks. He peeked through the window; another packed house. Great. So he headed to the only place he knew that might have a free seat: The Shatterdome.

It did. With Mako.

"No," she said without looking up.

"C'mon, Mori." He slid into the seat anyway. "There's no free table anywhere. Believe me, this is the last place I wanted to study."

Mako said nothing as he pulled out his textbooks, so he figured she was trying to stare daggers through him. He didn't look up to check.

"Glad to see you two getting along," the barista said as he took empty coffee mugs from the people at the table next to them.

"We're not," Chuck and Mako said in unison.

"Whatever you say. Want another friendship special, Chuck?"

"Sure, Ray."

"It's Raleigh."

"Raleigh, then." He glanced at Mako. "Might have to rename it Hardship, 'cause that's what she's causing me right now." 

As expected, she looked indignant.

_Just tying the score, Mori._

A few minutes later, Raleigh returned with a raspberry concoction. "Here you go: The Trespasser."

Mako's mouth twitched. "The friendship special—that was your idea, wasn't it, Raleigh?"

"Don't give me all the credit," he said. "You two inspired me. Which reminds me, Hardship is a good name, too." He glanced between them. "Got any requests?"

Chuck shook his now half-empty cup. "Considering this one was Mako's, I'd say it's my turn to pick. Make it chocolate and caffeinated."

Raleigh smirked. "Can do."

"Better name the next one Reckoner, then." Mako was smiling serenely, but she was clutching her pen with white knuckles. "Because there will be hell to pay if you keep me from studying."

"Two more friendship specials coming up, then," Raleigh said.

Chuck didn't escape Mako's glare this time, but he did fire back with a sneer.


	6. Aleksis

Hell Week felt particularly hellish this year. 

This wasn't Aleksis' first year in grad school, first year as a married man, or first year dealing with a discomfort he couldn't quite place. But this was the first year his family's comments got under his skin.

_"You could have any job you want back home. Why do you need more school?" "We're not getting any younger. When can we expect grandchildren?" "You let your wife talk to you like that? Don't be such a pushover, Aleksis."_

Weighed down by a soaked winter coat and his family's expectations, Aleksis trudged into a dingy coffee shop a block away from the university.

He wasn't sure what surprised him more: the old-school kaiju posters everywhere, the Godzilla mural on the far wall, or the barista sporting a bowtie and suspenders.

"First time?" The barista asked.

Aleksis tore his gaze from the cluttered menu board and nodded.

"Well, welcome to The Shatterdome. We rank our drinks on a category system. Category I is decaf, Category V is the strong stuff."

 _Karloff, Ragnarok, Knifehead, Raiju, Slattern…_ "Did you name these?"

The barista puffed out his chest. "Sure did. If I could name kaiju, these would be my picks. Are you a kaiju movie fan?"

"I've seen... " He shook his head. "Maybe two movies."

"We can change that. Lemme ask Yance when we're doing our next Toho marathon. What sounds good?"

Aleksis glanced at the categories again. "...Something in the middle?"

"I'd recommend the Yamarashi. It's a flat white."

"Yamarashi it is."

The coffee shop wasn't crowded, so Aleksis attempted to make small talk with the barista—Tendo, according to his name tag.

"Why 'The Shatterdome'? Is it from a kaiju movie?"

"Nah. My business partner, Yancy, came up with it. He tells the story better than I do, so you'll have to ask him about it."

Aleksis nodded politely.

"So, are you a student?"

"Grad student."

"Nice. What are you studying?"

"Business."

"You like it?"

Aleksis grimaced, and Tendo chuckled. "I know the feeling."

As it turned out, he and Tendo had learned under a few of the same professors, and they spent the next hour sharing stories of their favorites and commiserating about the tougher ones. Aleksis hadn't meant to spend so much time at the coffee shop, but he hadn't expected to talk to someone interesting when he walked in.

He sipped his lukewarm flat white as he walked back to his apartment, already brainstorming ways to convince Sasha to come to the upcoming movie marathon.


	7. Sasha

Kaiju movies were boring and cheesy. But watching kaiju movies beat staying in on a Friday night doing housework. Ugh.

Sasha could just hear her mother clicking her tongue at the dishes in the sink and dust on the bookshelves. At least Aleksis didn't chide her for her slackness.

The Shatterdome wasn't at all what she expected: a small, dingy coffee shop plastered with tacky posters and a crudely painted mural. The electric blue on the dark wall leaped out in the dim lighting.

Flickering black-and-white light beckoned to them from a small room in the back, presumably the screening room. As always, Aleksis left a light kiss on her cheek before stepping away to order drinks.

But Sasha didn't join the movie-goers just yet.

In the far corner of the half-empty coffee shop sat a woman about her age. She was hunched over a textbook, and the blue hair that framed her face brushed the pages.

Whether out of boredom or bravery, Sasha approached her.

"What are you studying?"

The woman looked up. "Mechanical engineering."

"Do you like it?"

She nodded.

"May I?" When the woman gestured to the empty seat across from her, Sasha sat down. So many questions ran through her mind, but there was only one she was dying to know the answer to.

"Forgive me if it's too personal, but what does your family think?"

The woman smiled politely. "My father is supportive. But even if he thought I should be studying something else, that wouldn't stop me. I've always wanted to be an engineer." She extended a hand. "My name is Mako, by the way."

"Sasha." She glanced toward Aleksis, who was chuckling with the barista at the counter. "Thanks for talking to me, Mako. Between you and me, I'm considering a career change."

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I'd like to work with machines."

Mako smiled. "That's exactly what I want to do. Best of luck."

Sasha replayed their conversation in her mind while pretending to watch the movie. What would her life have been like if she'd followed her instincts, not her mother's opinions? Maybe she'd be in university by now, or maybe even be a mechanic. Not yearning for an education and chasing jobs that had her handling only delicate things.

At least married life hadn't been hellish so far. She'd been lucky. Because the Kaidonovskys and Vasilievs were so close—literally, since they'd been neighbors for years—she'd known Aleksis practically her whole life.

She glanced at her husband, engrossed in the movie. White light danced in his eyes.

Those eyes had only looked at her with fondness. But would Aleksis look at her differently if she decided to flee her conventional choices for the sake of her sanity?

She shivered, and Aleksis draped his arm around her shoulders.


End file.
